HARTLEY, Sarah

Regulating genetically modified crops and foods in Canada and the United Kingdom - Toronto : IPAC, Fall 2005

This article examines the alternate use of models of representative, functional, and citizen-centred participatory democracy in the formulation of policies to regulate the risks of genetically modified crops and foods in the United Kingdom and Canada. It demonstrates that representative, functional and participatory democracy have all played a role in the United Kingdom; functional democracy has been ascendant in Canada, with representative democracy playing a secondary role. These cross-national differences derive from the greater imperative for regulatory legitimacy in the UK, and the Canadian preoccupation with regulatory effectiveness. The result is a more transparent UK regulatory framework that provides representation of a broader range of public values and concerns than in Canada.